So for Christians who believe in original sin...a lot of Christians I see and talk to seem so negative of human nature. They see humans as inherently evil and sinful cuz of Adam and Eve.
The way I see it is that Adam and his wife demonstrated what happens when you don't listen to the Creator and decide for yourself what is good and bad......seems to me that many humans can't tell the difference...which is why God left that decision in his own jurisdiction. That way humans would never have to wonder if something was good or evil, they would just live their lives under God's instructions and all would have been fine and dandy. Not an evil thing would have entered their lives.
And we should be shameful of our nature feel guilt so we should repent.
Strangely, the first things that the humans experienced once they gained a knowledge of evil was "shame"....it was a new and very uncomfortable feeling and they had an inordinate need to cover their reproductive bits. So evil attached to sex was very real....and God's laws were very specific about what was lawful and what wasn't regarding sexual activity....because this had to do with the transmission of life....humans would become 'creators' of their own kind. It was a huge responsibility to bring children into the world because human infants are not programmed by God, like many in the animal kingdom are, but humans were to be taught by their parents.....and influenced by their genetics and their environment. We only have to look and see how many screwed up kids there are in this world to know that the parents were not really well equipped to handle the assignment well with "sin" in the equation.
"Sin" is actually an archery term that means to miss the mark......to fall short of perfection.
Now certainly humans can seem evil. I am not saying the view isn't valid. I just want to know what made you drawn to this ideology. For those who agree why does it appeal to you?
Appeal? It has no appeal, its just the way it turned out. To give humans free will was a risk, because abusing it could turn it into a curse instead of the gift it was meant to be. That is why "free will" wasn't really "free"....it had conditions attached, that would hopefully act as a deterrent to anyone who was tempted to step outside of God's commands, none of which originally amounted to a hill of beans btw. Nothing God asked of them was in any way harsh or demanding. He was a good parent trying to do the best for his children, protecting them from evil.....but they chose it and had to suffer the consequences, taking all their children with them. But right at the start, God implemented a way for the children of Adam and his wife to be redeemed out of this sad and sorry condition.
How does "sin" make a Christian feel?
The apostle Paul explains...Romans 7:21-25....
"I find, then, this law in my case: When I wish to do what is right, what is bad is present with me. 22 I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, 23 but I see in my body another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my body. 24 Miserable man that I am! Who will rescue me from the body undergoing this death? 25 Thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, then, with my mind I myself am a slave to God’s law, but with my flesh to sin’s law."
Its an internal battle between the flesh and the spirit....we all have a conscience and sometimes it warns us not to do what we know is wrong....but then we do it anyway....and sometimes we feel bad about it....but not always if we can justify our bad behavior.
For me it's not appealing. It even seems unhealthy. However for some folks this ideology seems to be their thing and perhaps I've misunderstood it. I don't understand why anyone would find it appealing. I just want to know that's all.
Like I said no one wanted this....least of all God, but he wanted humans to see that free will, when used in the wrong way will cause harm and ruin....used in the right way it will bring happiness and blessings....its a hard lesson to learn, but apparently we couldn't be told...we had to be shown.
